Government Policies On Water Conservation: What You Need To Know

India loses nearly 38 billion liters of water daily due to pipeline leaks and mismanagement, a staggering figure that highlights the urgency of strengthening our conservation of water resources. As global temperatures rise and water tables deplete, the Indian government has rolled out key policies and frameworks to preserve our most precious resource—water. But policies alone cannot shift paradigms. It takes visionary design to breathe life into them. At Auroma Architecture, led by the pioneering Architect Trupti Doshi, we don’t just build structures; we build ecosystems that honor, regenerate, and elevate water through design.

The Rising Importance Of Conservation Of Water Resources

The conservation of water resources is no longer an environmental luxury—it is a national imperative. With over 600 million Indians facing acute water shortages and 21 major cities predicted to run out of groundwater by 2030 (NITI Aayog), the urgency is clear. Government measures are multiplying, but unless communities and built environments embody these principles, they remain on paper.

That’s where Architect Trupti Doshi’s work stands apart. Whether it's the rain-fed vaults of Sharanam Rural Development Centre or the regenerative water systems at Auroma French Villaments, every project she undertakes is a living example of how water-centric design can implement, amplify, and go beyond government mandates.

Decoding The National Water Policy

India’s national water policy (NWP) lays out the principles of equitable, sustainable water usage, with its 2012 version emphasizing conservation, integrated water resources management, and stakeholder participation. However, many urban developments do not reflect these principles in practice.

Trupti Doshi's architectural philosophy resonates deeply with the NWP's intent. She translates the policy into tangible elements—rooftop harvesting systems, earth-based reservoirs, and greywater recycling units—woven seamlessly into each project’s design DNA. The Auroma Homes Phase 3 development in Pondicherry, for instance, integrates stormwater recharge pits as invisible yet powerful agents of groundwater replenishment.

Embedding Water Management Laws Into Design

Water management laws across Indian states increasingly mandate rainwater harvesting, sewage treatment, and water metering in buildings. However, compliance is often superficial. At Auroma Architecture, we go far beyond regulatory tick-boxes. We believe that laws can be internalized into a building’s “intelligence.”

In the School for Integral Education in Indore, children interact with water management through visible, tactile mechanisms—a calibrated glass tank to measure daily use, and floor-engraved water flow maps that turn legal mandates into daily learnings. This is compliance with creativity, law with life.

Public Water Awareness As An Architectural Responsibility

Public water awareness is often addressed through media campaigns, posters, or educational programs. But what if your very building taught you about water? What if walls whispered, and corridors guided conservation?

Trupti Doshi’s institutional projects do just that. In Sharanam, unfired earth walls absorb and release humidity, allowing residents to experience moisture retention firsthand. In the Jagriti Enterprise Centre, traditional lime plaster releases water vapor, offering a multisensory interaction with evaporative cooling.

These architectural choices become vehicles for public water awareness, engaging users on emotional, sensory, and intellectual levels—something no policy document can achieve alone.

Water Conservation Schemes: Implemented Through Architecture

India’s numerous water conservation schemes, from Jal Shakti Abhiyan to Atal Bhujal Yojana, are transformative in intent. Yet, most miss the bridge between policy and people. That’s where integrated architecture steps in.

Auroma’s Gratitude EcoVilla, known as India’s “House of Tomorrow,” implements water conservation through passive design. Sloped roofs channel rain into underground storage, while natural landscaping filters runoff. There’s no “installation” of schemes—there’s embodiment. This is policy brought alive, every square foot a statement of stewardship.

Architect Trupti Doshi’s Design Responses To India’s Water Crisis

• Rainwater Harvesting: From reservoirs carved from site soil to harvesting terraces, every drop is captured and celebrated.
  

• Zero-Discharge Wastewater Recycling: Greywater is ecologically treated and reused in all major projects—especially in the Eco Resort in Coonoor.
  

• Natural Cooling Systems: Evaporative ponds, radiant floors, and stone-water synergy reduce AC dependence, saving water indirectly.
  

• Material Intelligence: Use of lime instead of cement enables humidity regulation, reducing hidden water loads in buildings.
  

With climate variability rising and rainfall becoming erratic, these practices are no longer experimental—they are essential.

The Invisible Power Of Water-Inspired Architecture

Unlike conventional practices where infrastructure remains external to the building, Trupti’s philosophy considers water as a soul that inhabits every wall, roof, and pathway. Her spaces don’t just follow water management laws; they reinterpret them as poetic design strategies.

This is most poignantly seen in the Auroma Architecture Office in Pondicherry—a living lab where terracotta fins, porous flooring, and shaded courtyards create microclimates that require no irrigation. Every drop is counted, every shadow is intentional.

Why You Can’t Afford To Ignore Water-Centric Design

The price of ignorance is paid in floods, droughts, tankers, and environmental collapse. Policies may exist, but they rely on visionaries like Architect Trupti Doshi to give them form, rhythm, and endurance. Without integrated architecture, water conservation schemes remain unsung blueprints.

As urban India hurtles toward expansion, the need for water-conscious design is not a luxury—it is the only way forward. Choosing to design without integrating national water policy or ignoring public water awareness is not just a missed opportunity—it’s a risk to community well-being and long-term survival.

Make Every Drop Count With Auroma Architecture

Whether you are developing a home, an institution, or a retreat, your choices shape the planet. At Auroma Architecture, we invite you to become part of a conscious movement—one that nurtures the Earth while nurturing its inhabitants.

To book an appointment for consultation with Architect Trupti Doshi, please fill and submit the form at https://www.auromaarchitecture.com/contact-us. Our team will get in touch with you to schedule a session that can redefine your relationship with space and nature.

Let’s not build just for shelter—let’s build for regeneration. Let’s turn policies into poetry. Let’s make every wall a reservoir, every roof a sky, and every space a celebration of water.